| Azərbaycan Respublikasının Müdafiə Nazirliyi | |
 Official emblem of the Azerbaijani Defence Ministry | |
 Zakir Hasanov | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 5 September 1991; 34 years ago (1991-09-05) |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Azerbaijan |
| Headquarters | 3 Parliament Avenue,Baku, 1073 |
| Minister responsible |
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| Agency executive |
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| Parent department | Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (union wide) Ministry of Defence of the ADR (in Azerbaijan) |
| Website | mod |
TheMinistry of Defence of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani:Azərbaycan Respublikasının Müdafiə Nazirliyi) orMN is anAzerbaijani government agency that is associated with theAzerbaijani military. The ministry is responsible for keeping Azerbaijan defended against external threats, preserving its territorial integrity, waging war on behalf of Azerbaijan (for example, Azerbaijan's contribution to thewar on terror), and the surveillance of the Azerbaijani sector of theCaspian Sea sea and airspace. The Minister of Defence is appointed and removed from the post by theCommander-in-chief of theAzerbaijani Armed Forces, thePresident of Azerbaijan.
The ministry building is located inBaku, at 3 Parliament Avenue.[1]
The first defence minister of theAzerbaijan Democratic Republic was GeneralKhosrov bey Sultanov, who was appointed on 28May 1918. In accordance with the Action Plan approved by Parliament on formation of the army, important structures and divisions were to be established by 1 November 1919. Within the time allotted, an artillery division, and two infantry divisions consisting of three regiments, a special telegraph, cavalry and machine gun platoons, railway battalions were to be created. Another priority of the government of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was to establish the Ministry of Defence. No minister of defence portfolio was officially instituted but Khosrov bey Sultanov assumed the duties of the minister from 28 May 28 through to 11 June 11, 1918. The Ministry of Defence of theAzerbaijan Democratic Republic was established by a decision made on 23 October 1918. This decision was formalized on 7 November 7 of the same year. After formalization of the decision Fatali-khan Khoyski was appointed the minister of defence. On 26 December 1918 Lieutenant General of the Russian ArtillerySamad-bey Mehmandarov took office. Lieutenant General Aliagha Shikhlinski was appointed his deputy and Lieutenant General Suleyman Shulkevitch as the Chief of the General Staff. As the Ministry of Defence was officially dissolved in the wake of Azerbaijan's Sovietization in 1920, their functions were delegated to the People's Military Commissariat, and the Bolsheviks executed 15 of the 21 Army Generals of Azerbaijan. The newly-formedAzerbaijani Red Army replaced the previous army during theRussian Civil War.[2][3]
In the midst of thedissolution of the Soviet Union and political turmoil in Azerbaijan in the late 1980s, the Azerbaijani military played an important role in the struggle for and retention of power.
The Ministry of Defence was established on 5 September 1991, following a resolution by the High Council of the Azerbaijan SSR. One month later, on 9 October, theArmed Forces of Azerbaijan was established.
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The ministry has the following structure:[4]
The military education system of the Ministry of Defence is composed of educational institutions specialized on military and other relevant agencies that mainly focus on training and building a qualified and patriotic staff who are expected to implement the duties and tasks of armed forces and at the same time having adequate knowledge based on education standards of the country for guaranteeing the defence and security ofAzerbaijan.[6]
The main directions of international military cooperation:
The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Azerbaijan supports the Office of the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office to conduct a ceasefire monitoring exercises on the Line of Confrontation of the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as on the state border.
The Republic of Azerbaijan joined the NATO-led "Partnership for Peace" (PFP) programme on 4 May 1994, and the NATOPlanning and Review Process (PARP) in 1996. Azerbaijan joined the NATO military training and education programme aimed at improving the school of sergeants in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan, training programmes for junior officers and the inclusion of the subject "Strategy and Defence Planning" in the educational programme of the Academy of Armed Forces as a new module. Azerbaijan has become a reliable partner in NATO-led operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan, and still contributes to the alliance's mission in Afghanistan by deploying its peacekeeping forces there. Furthermore, on NATO's advice, Azerbaijan developed strategic documents on defence and security, and made improvements in this direction. Besides this, NATO and Azerbaijan cooperate on reorganizing units in accordance with NATO standards and on developing control and command capabilities for each armed service.
Cooperation between the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the International Committee of theRed Cross (ICRC) covers the issues of providing educational materials onInternational Humanitarian Law (IHL) for the Armed Forces of the Republic of Azerbaijan, delivering lectures on IHL in the Military Academy of the Armed Forces, and conducting training and seminars on IHL for servicemen, ensuring their participation in regional and international courses. Cooperation also helps to monitor the civilian population's living conditions in the areas near the Line of Confrontation (LOC) between the armed forces of Armenia andAzerbaijan, through visits to these places, creating conditions for the agricultural activities of the civilian population living near the Line of Confrontation of the armed forces of the Armenia and Azerbaijan through launching some social orientated projects, alongside cooperation in arranging and conducting humanitarian assistance.
| № | President | Term of office | Political party | Government | Elected | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Days | |||||
| 1 |  | Khosrov bey Sultanov Xosrov bəy Sultanov (1879–1947) | 27 May 1918 | 11 June 1918 | 15 | Ittihad | 1.Rasulzade I | 1918 | [7] |
| Won theBattle of Baku; Established two infantrydivisions consisting of three regiments, artillery division, special telegraph, cavalry and machine gun platoons, railway battalions. | |||||||||
| 2 |  | Fatali Khan Khoyski Fətəli-xan Xoyski (1875–1920) | 7 November 1918 | 25 December 1918 | 48 | Independent | 2.Topchubashov I | 1918 | [8] |
| 3 |  | Samad bey Mehmandarov Səməd bəy Mehmandarov (1855–1931) | 25 December 1918 | 28 April 1920 | 731 | Independent | 3.Topchubashov I | 1918 | [9] |
| 1920 Ganja revolt; Failed to slow down the advance of11th Red Army onAzerbaijan Democratic Republic. | |||||||||
People's Commissars for Military and Naval Affairs of Azerbaijan SSR
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg) | This sectionneeds expansion. You can help byadding to it.(July 2010) |
| № | Chairman | Term of office | Political party | Government | Elected | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Days | |||||
| 1 |  | Chingiz Ildyrym Çingiz İldırım (1890–1938) | 28 April 1920 | 5 June 1920 | 38 | Communist (Bolsheviks) | 1.Hüseynov I | — | [10] |
| 2 |  | Aliheydar Garayev Aliheydar Garayev (1896–1938) | 5 June 1920 | 20 June 1920 | 15 | Communist (Bolsheviks) | 2.Hüseynov I | — | [11] |
| № | President | Term of office | Political party | Government | Elected | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait | Name | Took office | Left office | Days | |||||
| 1 | Valeh Barshadly Valeh Bərşadlı (1927–1999) | 5 September 1991 | 11 December 1991 | 97 | Military | Mütəllibov II | 1991 | [12] | |
| During his term as Chief of Staff, Azerbaijani army has achieved successful military victories on the Karabakh front; Prevented the ammunition from being destroyed when the remaining Soviet army was pulling out of Azerbaijan in 1992. | |||||||||
| 2 | Tajeddin Mehdiyev Tacəddin Mehdiyev (19??–) | 11 December 1991 | 17 February 1992 | 68 | Military | Mütəllibov II | 1971 | ||
| Led an unsuccessful operation in Dashalty;Capture of Malibeyli and Gushchular. | |||||||||
| – | Shahin Musayev(Acting) Şahin Musayev (19??–) | 17 February 1992 | 24 February 1992 | 7 | Military | – | – | [13] | |
| Capture of Garadaghly. | |||||||||
| 3 |  | Tahir Aliyev Tahir Əliyev (1952–) | 24 February 1992 | 16 March 1992 | 21 | Military | – | 1992 | [14] |
| Khojaly Massacre. | |||||||||
| 4 |  | Rahim Gaziyev Rəhim Qazıyev (1943–) | 17 March 1992 | 20 February 1993 | 340 | Azerbaijani Popular Front Party | 4.Elçibəy I | 1992 | |
| Capture of Shusha. | |||||||||
| 5 | Dadash Rzayev Dadaş Rzayev (1935–2024) | 20 February 1993 | 17 June 1993 | 147 | Azerbaijani Popular Front Party | 5.Elçibəy I | 1993 | [15] | |
| Sacked by PresidentAbulfaz Elchibey for taking a part during skirmishes during theGanja revolt. | |||||||||
| – |  | Safar Abiyev(Acting) Səfər Əbiyev (1950–) | 17 June 1993 | 7 August 1993 | 51 | New Azerbaijan Party | – | – | |
| – | Vahid Musayev(Acting) Vahid Musayev (1947–1999) | 7 August 1993 | 25 August 1993 | 18 | New Azerbaijan Party | – | – | [16] | |
| Arresting for being part ofcoup d'état attempt againstHeydar Aliyev. | |||||||||
| 6 | Mammadrafi Mammadov Məmmədrəfi Məmmədov (1942–) | 2 September 1993 | 6 February 1995 | 522 | New Azerbaijan Party | 6.H.Əliyev II | 1993 | [17] | |
| Bishkek Protocol. | |||||||||
| 7 | | Safar Abiyev Səfər Əbiyev (1950–) | 6 February 1995 | 22 October 2013 | 6833 | New Azerbaijan Party | 7.H.Əliyev II | 1995 | [18] |
| During Abiyev's tenure as defence minister, Azerbaijan has signed military cooperation agreements with Turkey, the United States, Pakistan and others;Partnership for Peace. | |||||||||
| 8 |  | Zakir Hasanov Zakir Həsənov (1959–) | 22 October 2013 | 4420 | New Azerbaijan Party | 8.İ.Əliyev I | 2013 | [19] | |
| Assets of theMinistry of Defence |  | |
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